In Clint Woodside’s latest monograph, the Independence of the title is the name of a not-quite-yet-has-been town that’s become all too familiar in the United States. It could be almost anywhere; in fact Independence could reference some 30 cities across the country. Like that name, Woodside’s pictures have a universal quality – a feeling owing largely to sympathetically observed specifics which reflect his own recollection of growing up in such a place.
“Independence” is, as well, a condition: a sovereignty or self-determination based on the mutual cooperation and confidence of a group of people. As economic and social conditions erode, that confidence becomes ever harder to maintain. We see neglect and collapse, but not surrender, because Woodside manages in his photographs to show us that a decline in hopes does not necessarily mean hopelessness.
Independence is the first volume in an ongoing series that will continue with future instalments. Each publication will have a different guest collaborator. This first volume is co-edited by Woodside and Josh Schaedel, artist and co-founder of Fulcrum Press.
64 pages, 17.2 x 23 cm, spiral bound, Deadbeat Club (Los Angeles).